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Published on: October 29, 2018
Effects of dynamic range compression on spatial selective auditory attention in normal-hearing listeners
Andrew H Schwartz1, Barbara G Shinn-Cunningham
1Harvard/Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology Program, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
|April 6, 2013
Summary
Independent hearing aid compression can disrupt spatial hearing. Linking compressors to provide identical gain to both ears significantly improves performance in complex listening environments, preserving spatial perception.
Area of Science:
- Audiology
- Psychoacoustics
- Signal Processing
Background:
- Hearing aids use compressive gain to manage reduced dynamic range in hearing loss.
- Independent compression in hearing aids can alter interaural level differences (ILDs), impacting spatial hearing.
- Previous research shows mixed effects of compression on spatial perception and speech identification.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how independent versus linked compression in hearing aids affects spatial perception.
- To determine the impact of fast and slow compression on the ability to discern a target sound amidst maskers.
- To quantify the spatial separation needed for listeners to achieve threshold performance under different compression conditions.
Main Methods:
- Normal-hearing listeners performed a speech identification task with a target and two spatially separated maskers.
- The study manipulated fast, syllabic compression that was either independent or linked between the ears.
- The required spatial separation for threshold performance was measured under various compression conditions.
Main Results:
- Fast, independent compression increased the spatial separation needed to identify the target.
- Linking compressors to preserve ILDs largely restored performance, mitigating the deficit from independent compression.
- Performance decrements with independent compression were most pronounced at smaller spatial separations.
Conclusions:
- Linked compression, preserving interaural level differences, is crucial for maintaining spatial perception.
- Independent compression negatively impacts the ability to segregate sounds in space, especially at close spatial separations.
- These findings help reconcile previous conflicting reports on the effects of hearing aid compression on spatial hearing.
